Events Best Bets: August

Essential Viewing

Nobody doubts the attraction of Arab World Fest’s camel rides and plates of baba ghanoug. But Milwaukee’s celebration of Arabic culture delves into deeper waters, too, particularly within its film festival. Atop this year’s marquee might be Omar, a 2014 Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Film. The title character is a young Palestinian baker forced to become an Israeli informant, a plot that weaves him through a star-crossed love story. Of a more uplifting nature, there’s Flying Papers, a documentary following kids who try to break a Guinness World Record by flying kites on a Gaza beach. Those films and others should give your entourage plenty to discuss later around the hookah. (Howie Magner)
➞ Arab World Fest’s Film Festival (Aug. 8-10). Henry Maier Festival Park. 200 N. Harbor Dr., 888-912-2722, arabworldfest.com.

A Singular Experience

Timothy Showalter, the heavily bearded and slightly bedraggled crooner and guitarist better known as Strand of Oaks, released his latest LP Heal in late June to much fanfare from the likes of NPR, Grantland, Pitchfork and Rolling Stone. The latter called his sometimes-folk, occasionally grunge and always masterfully strummed material about heartbreak “gorgeous,” and it’s easy to see why. Showalter is the rare combination of a great songwriter and a talented multi-genre guitarist. Your 10 bucks won’t be better spent this month than at Showalter’s Pabst performance, which will surely be a night filled with his soulful, memoir-esque lyrics, and a side of shredding. (Claire Hanan)

An Artful Pairing

Homebrewers and designers may make an odd couple. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have similar interests or complementary talents. Those talents are being harnessed for the second Home Brewed competition, which pairs a designer with one homebrewer, the former using typography, images and illustrations to craft an artful bottle label for the latter. Imagine a Milwaukee-brewed beer with a label looking like a Frank Lloyd Wright-styled glass windowpane, or labels that incorporate Cream City brick, whales, dogs and other furry creatures. Nothing is a better home for these wacky images than bottles of equally imaginative suds. (Claire Hanan)

Portrait Sessions

Two shows at the Marshall Building’s Portrait Society Gallery deserve serious contemplation this month. Romano Johnson and Skully Gustafson bring their portraits in separate exhibits. To call them colorful is an understatement. Both use their own bodies in a selection of pieces, but their styles diverge from there. Johnson shaves patterns into his hair – an accent to the painting that surrounds his body, while Gustafson assumes bird-like poses in an art-filled box that’s been described as “Pee Wee Herman meets Jean-Michel Basquiat meets My Little Pony.” The artists explore the dimensions of their practice in plain view, and their art allows the viewer to come along for the ride. We recommend buckling up. (Claire Hanan)

The Road Runner

When Willie Nelson arrives for a two-night stay at Potawatomi’s Northern Lights Theater, he’ll have already played 80 concerts in 2014, at venues ranging from small Oklahoma casinos to Radio City Music Hall. At 81, he still can’t wait to get on the road, to the point of sometimes sleeping on his tour bus when it’s parked outside his Texas home. He’s country music’s long-haired answer to Tony Bennett, a revered scion who long ago transcended his genre and won’t go gently into retirement. Expect to hear Nelson’s familiar nasal twang blending old favorites with work from Band of Brothers, his June album of mostly new material and his largest release of original songs since 1996. Then he’ll be on the road again. (Howie Magner)

Upcoming Events

Hue Knew? An Exploration of Color is the culmination of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee/Milwaukee Public Museum Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies Program, a two-year graduate certificate program collaboratively hosted by UW-Milwaukee and the Museum. In the final semester of the program, students are tasked with developing an exhibition from a ...

Learn painting techniques from a talented artist working in an open studio environment. Explore composition, painting styles, techniques and color analysis through individual instruction. Develop a personal approach to painting. All paint media welcome. Online registration closes 3 days before class begins. Class is held at RAM’s Wustum Museum located ...

Designed for the experienced student. Work in an open studio environment practicing potter’s wheel, and hand building skills and techniques. A studio facilitator will be on hand for questions, advice, and to keep the clay studio up and running. Online registration closes three days before class begins. Class is held ...